Move Along, Kids
by The Mocking J
Summary: When an evil organisation arrives to take the Golden Garden, its up to the Black Ravens to defend Misthallery.


_**[[Man, I've wanted to write this for a while now. Ever since I played MM and Bronev mentioned Targent already occupied "The Garden of Healing" along with "The City of Harmony". And because the Black Raven kids deserve more love... This is set sometime after PL4, with spoilers for the Last Spectre. By the way, I believe Gus is Tweeds in the British version of the fourth game.]]**_

* * *

Move Along, Kids

The strange men in blue uniforms and dark glasses had been snooping around Misthallery for a week now. At first they seemed to be investigating something with cameras, shovels and other scientific equipment. Then they'd started questioning the villagers about the events of the Spectre and the recent discovery of the Golden Garden. The men looked a bit like secret agents, but there was a sinister air surrounding them that bothered the Black Raven children.

Badger watched from his wooden lookout post as a pair of goons strode past the market stalls, frequently stopping to interrogate shoppers. The shy boy had made certain to avoid them. He disliked speaking to people in general; these two were plain terrifying for him.

Badger nearly jumped out of his skin when Scraps called up to him. "Are those weird guys still here?"

"Yeah," Badger replied, eyeing them warily once more.

"They'd better not start digging around in the dumpsters..."

Scraps took his job of shifting through rubbish piles very seriously. Finding junk to spiff up and sell was a key process in the Black Market. However, since the suspicious men arrived, Crow had put the Black Market under complete lockdown to save the Ravens' identities. Crow insisted they didn't want to risk doing business with a shady bunch like that. So, now it was just a case of waiting for the men to leave before they could hold their next auction.

"Badger, Scraps!" Marilyn had abandoned her fruit stand and was racing towards them. _"Birdie needs all the eggs in the nest!"_ The boys traded perplexed glances.

Scraps scratched his fuzzy brown head. "In _English?"_ he prompted.

"Sorry," Marilyn laughed, her wispy dark hair rippling "I was speaking in code. You know, in case you-know-who are listening nearby... What I meant to say was Crow wants all of us to meet him in the bazaar. It's important."

Badger leapt down from his post and followed his friends to the north side of the market. Nabby opened the secret hole as soon as he saw them.

"Took your time, you three did," Naby grumbled.

Pointedly ignoring the grouchy street urchin, they climbed down the ladder and ran along the tunnel, careful not to slip by the mini pool of water, until they reached the underground auction hall. Their fellow Ravens— Crow, Louis, Wren, Socket and Gus were already present. Crow stood on the stage... along with Arianna and Tony Barde. Tony was perched on the edge of the stage, swinging his legs while Arianna sat with her hands folded neatly in her lap.

The Black Ravens had befriended the Barde siblings since the Spectre incident. Still, it was the first time the siblings had entered the secret bazaar. This must have been urgent.

"Good, everyone's here," Crow counted eight Ravens and nodded to Tony. "Tell them what happened."

A frantic torrent of words burst from Tony's mouth. "Arianna and I went to visit the Golden Garden, but when we got there these mean guys wouldn't let us through the flood gates. They said they were doing an investigation or something. I told them my sister really needed to get to the Garden. T-then they pointed g-guns at us and made us leave!"

"Calm down, Tony," his sister sighed wearily "Nothing's going to happen to me if I don't reach the Garden _this _instant. And they only _threatened _to get their guns out." Of course, Arianna didn't fear death as much as most people. Once upon a time she'd accepted her life would be short. That was before she'd tasted the pure air of the Golden Garden.

Louis stated "That's still a horrible thing to do!"

Arianna trained her gaze on Crow, continuing. "I considered alerting the police, or even contacting Luke's father. However, Tony insisted we should come straight to you."

"Well, the coppers ain't gonna do you any favours," Crow agreed.

There'd been chaos in Misthallery's police department since the corrupt Third Eye Jakes had been arrested. The constables were lost without their chief bossing them around. As for Mr Triton...well, he wasn't a bad guy, but he was more concerned about his own family.

It proved you couldn't always rely on grownups.

"Please, please, you have to help us!" Tony begged, fixing the market kids with wide trusting eyes "We can pay you..."

"How much...?" Socket began hopefully. (He changed his mind when Wren elbowed him in the stomach.)

Crow grinned at Tony. "'Course we'll help. Anyway, those guys are affecting Black Market business. They need to be taught a lesson."

"Really? Thank you!" Tony beamed, bounding up to hug Crow, much to the older boy's disdain.

"Yes, thank you so much," Arianna sounded extremely grateful and relieved. She appeared pensive for a moment. "There's just one thing I don't understand... Professor Layton promised he would keep the Golden Garden a secret until I was completely better. You don't think he... he went back on his word, do you?"

"Nah, Professor Top Hat's too decent for that," Crow assured her as he peeled Tony away from him. "Maybe those fellas already knew about the Golden Garden. Right then..." Crow turned to his gang. "Nabby, Scraps, Louis and Marylin— you stay at the Market and drive any of 'em away from here. Nabby, you're in charge." Crow regarded the second half of the Ravens. "Badger, Wren, Socket— you three are comin' with me."

The room was filled with excited choruses of _"Yeah!" _and _"Let's do it!"_

"_Yeah, let's do it—!_ Wait a sec..." Gus frowned in confusion. "Where's _my_ part in the plan?

"Oh..." Crow had been about to grab the Black Raven costumes (couldn't blow their cover in front of the suspicious men). He looked at the others, realising none of them were going to back him up on this. _Thanks guys, thanks a lot _he thought. "Gus," Crow instructed awkwardly "You... just stay _right here_ in the auction hall."

"But I wanna help..." The big lad whined.

"Pffft~ remember the _last _time ya 'helped'?" Scraps rolled his eyes "Ya just _had _to carry candy, didn't ya? Ya gave us away to the professor and his friends!"

Louis added "And ya made Black Raven's robes all sticky."

Gus had a look like a kicked puppy. "I was hungry..."

Crow sighed, clasping a hand on Gus's shoulder. "Someone strong has to stay here to protect Tony and Arianna. And I think I left some sweets backstage..."

In less than a single second's thought, Gus had changed his mind about being bodyguard for the Barde siblings. _(Oh boy oh boy, free candy!) _

**-0-**

"Why have _I _gotta be the one who dresses up?" Louis groaned.

He, Nabby, Scraps and Marilyn had been tailing the obtrusive duo who were harassing people around the market. The kids were currently hiding behind the stripy tarp of Marilyn's family's fruit stall, right next to their intended targets.

Nabby hissed "You're taller than Scraps, we need Marilyn for the plan and I'm... directing you all. End of story. Is everyone ready?"

Louis sighed but with a flick of his hair, he donned his mask, completing the disguise.

"Alright," Nabby indicated "Marilyn... You go _now_."

Marilyn approached the men and greeted them as if she was giving the perfect sales pitch. "Hello, Sirs."

The taller of the two inquired suspiciously. "Didn't we already speak to you yesterday, girl?"

"You did," Marilyn affirmed "But I just heard the most interesting news."

Both men exchanged glimpses, their attention hooked. "Is it about the Golden Garden?" the stout one asked.

"Not exactly... I found out there's this scary birdman in a black cloak that haunts the market. Creepy, right?" (This wasn't too different to the information Marilyn would usually disseminate to passing customers searching for the Black Market.)

The taller guy huffed at her. "Look, kid, don't bother us again unless it's about the Golden Garden—"

"_Ehehehehehe!" _A ghastly giggle cut across the air.

As the men peered around in confusion, Marilyn let out a dramatic gasp. "Oh no, _he's here_!"

"W-who?" The stout man stuttered.

"Quick_, hide_!" Marilyn dived behind a box of apples.

A figure in a long hooded black robe and a white bird's mask abruptly appeared, extracting yells of terror from the men:

"_AHHHH! THE CREEPY BIRDMAN!" _

"I have come for your riches," the birdman boomed.

Marilyn peeked out from behind her stall counter, offering up a basket of fruit she'd prepared earlier. "H-h-here," she trembled "Take this. Just please, don't _curse _me!"

"You shall be spared," the birdman accepted the fruit basket. He then pointed his wooden staff at the alarmed men. "And what have _you two _got to offer me?"

"D-don't curse us either," the tall one pleaded.

"What he said," his partner adjoined "H-here, take everything we have!"

They completely emptied their pockets and discarded the pistols they'd been concealing. Louis had to hide his disgust as they even removed their belts, boots and entire uniforms so that they stood quivering in their underwear. Disguising his voice again, Louis told them "This shall suffice_... for now_. But if you _ever_ trespass upon my domain again, both of you will be _very _sorry indeed."

"Y-y-yes Mr Creepy Birdman, Sir. We'll never, ever trespass again!"

With that, the two men hightailed out of the marketplace, leaving a cloud of dust behind them.

"Nice one, Louis," Marilyn grinned as Scraps scrambled across the cobblestones to collect the 'offerings' the men had drooped. _It was Scraps' lucky day! _His bounty included a watch, two wallets, a gold ring and much, much more.

Louis took off the Black Raven costume and Nabby smiled. The street urchin said "Good. We've succeeded in our part of the plan. Those two won't be coming back anytime soon. Let us hope Crow and the others get their job done too."

**-0-**

Meanwhile, Crow, Badger, Socket and Wren were crouched amongst the bushes, spying on the dozen blue uniformed troops lined up in front of the Loosha shrine outside the floodgates. The only way to enter the Golden Garden was through the passage that had once been hidden underwater in the dam. Loosha had knocked down the old floodgates, emptying the dam and revealing the Garden's entranceway. The water in the dam hadn't been refilled since.

It was pretty pointless reconstructing the floodgates and even calling it a _dam_ anymore. Nevertheless, the always cautious Mayor Triton had insisted upon it in case Misthallery experienced a sudden surge of rain.

"How do we get 'em away from there?" Badger whispered.

Crow was thoughtful for a few moments. "Didn't Mayor Triton ask for _puzzle lock_ to be put on the floodgates?" The Black Raven leader had found it a weird idea to begin with, but it could work to their advantage.

"I see where you're goin' with this, Crow," Wren smiled "If you guys keep those guards busy, I can lock the floodgates."

"Uh, Sis," Socket pointed out "How are _Tony and Arianna_ gonna get back into the Garden if you lock the gates for good?"

"Don't try to be smart, Socket! I'll just solve the puzzle and open the gates_ later w_hen the guards are gone. Simple!"

"Shut it, you two," Crow silenced their bickering. "Now we need to think of a way to distract the guards..."

"How 'bout you scare them with the _Spectre Bot_?" Wren suggested.

"Great idea," said Crow. _Of course. _That Descole man had left behind the remains of his terrifying contraptions. The "Spectre Robot" ( or "Spectre Bot" for short) came in handy when they were rebuilding houses in Misthallery after the masked man's onslaught. Funny how the metal monster that had once terrorised their town could be so useful.

"Ridin' a machine, leave that to me," Socket said.

"Actually, let me get the Spectre Bot," Badger piped up "It's in the factory at the moment. I can run there faster than you."

"No one's goin' anywhere 'til we put these on," Crow revealed four Black Raven costumes. "We don't want them to recognise us, do we?"

Half an hour later, the Spectre Bot came clanking up the hill, driven by three hooting Black Ravens. The guards panicked when they saw the robot headed straight for them. Some dropped their guns and legged it. A braver few stood their ground and open fired, but their bullets just bounced off the machine's sturdy exterior. Heck, the Spectre Bot had smashed through whole buildings and survived beatings from _Loosha. _This was a piece of cake.

Crow ducked under the Spectre Bot's huge claws to avoid being hit by the bullets. He wheeled his head around, searching for the smallest Black Raven. _Surely Wren would've locked the floodgates by now... _

Socket controlled the Spectre Bot; several guards were swatted aside by the machine's "arms".

"Has Wren closed the gates yet?" Badger asked Crow in a low voice.

"No," Crow answered him. The floodgates were still wide open. At least they'd managed to scare off the all guards...

_"Sock_-_mmph...! Cr-mph! HMMMPH!" _

Over the sudden sound of muffled cries, a deep voice growled. "That's quite enough."

The three boys turned in horror. A grey haired man wearing a fancy blue jacket and white trousers had just emerged from behind the floodgates. Struggling in his grasp was Wren. He'd removed her Black Raven mask and cruelly twisted her arms behind her back.

"Wren," Socket gasped and then he barked "Let her go!"

Grey-haired man— unperturbed the hostage girl was attempting to bite his hand— scowled at the other goons. He obviously possessed some authority over them. "These _children _are no match for you all, are they?"

"They're _kids?" _The guards blinked at their masked assailants with shock.

One grunt rushed to think of a viable excuse. "B-but they're armed with a robot, Bronev Sir."

"I can see _that_," 'Bronev' snarled. Then he addressed the male Black Ravens loudly. "You three, turn off that machine and remove those ridiculous costumes."

Concerned for his sister, Socket instantly shut down the Spectre Bot and moved away from the robot. After a beat, Crow and Badger joined him, taking off their bird masks.

"Now that I have your attention..." Bronev released Wren; she ran to her brother's side. "Do tell, why would a group of ragtag youths decide to stand in our way? My agency hasn't harmed any of you villagers. Our interests lie only in the Garden of Healing."

Crow snapped back "Your _'agency'_ threatened our friends. When you messed with them, you messed with all of us!"

"Oh ho ho, is that so?" Bronev studied Crow, smirking at him coldly. "What commendable courage. I recognise a true leader when I see one."

Badger breathed, barely loud enough for Crow to hear, "He's a better leader than you'll ever be."

"Hmm... Come. We will leave Misthallery for now." Crow was very surprised when Bronev said this. (He'd wondered if it was the end for the four of them.)

"We've confirmed the Garden of Healing's location. It isn't going anywhere." Bronev referred to the children in a sarcastic tone. "And it's _clearly_ guarded here." He chuckled darkly and walked away from the floodgates, his grunts trailing behind him like lapdogs.

Wren sniffed. "Crow, sorry I screwed up the plan. H-he grabbed me before I could lock the gates..."

"It's not your fault," Crow muttered, not taking his eyes off the agency until he was certain they were gone. "C'mon. Let's tell Arianna and Tony it's safe to go in the Garden again."

"What d'you think they wanted with the Golden Garden?" Socket wondered as the four returned to the market place.

Crow shrugged. "No idea. But whatever they're after, they ain't gonna get it. Not with the Black Ravens watchin' out for Misthallery."

Badger smiled faintly. "I didn't know you cared for Misthallery so much."

"Did I say _that_? Nah, I was just worried they'd scare away all our customers. I tell ya, when the Golden Garden becomes famous, there'll be loads of suckers pouring into the Black Market."

"Sure, Crow. It's always about business with you."

**-0-**

One of the Targent members slammed his fist against a table, fuming at his superior. "But why didn't we just shoot those meddlesome kids there and then?"

Bronev Reinel answered him with cool contempt. "Fool. Could you imagine the stir that would cause in a town like Misthallery? People would talk of the atrocities. Targent would be brought into the public eye." He looked out the airship window as the misty town grew smaller and smaller. He murmured thoughtfully "Besides, its calculating kids like those that make future Targent trainees..."

The Targent leader returned his gaze to his underling. "We can easily secure the Garden of Healing at a later date. For now, the City of Harmony is our top priority. It is next legacy we must locate."


End file.
